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Cathy Green Burns to Become PMA Prez

Former Food Lion head embarks on new role Dec. 1

August 4, 2013, 08:00 pm

Cathy Green Burns will join the Product Marketing Association (PMA) as president, effective Dec. 1, as part of the Newark, Del.-based organization’s ongoing restructuring of its senior leadership team. In her new role, Burns will focus initially on guiding board and staff team development in addition to offering insight on business development activities. She will report to PMA CEO Bryan Silbermann, who formerly held both president and CEO positions.

“Cathy brings to PMA an unparalleled level of leadership skills and industry knowledge that are vital as we continue growing the value we provide our members” noted Silbermann. “She’ll play a crucial role supporting the rollout of our new strategic plan, especially in helping members grow in the midst of so much change in our consumer and trade marketplaces. I’ve known Cathy for more than a decade and have especially admired her leadership presence and consensus-building skills. The talent she’s honed in running Food Lion will take us to even greater heights in the years ahead.”

Burns (above) praised PMA as” an organization that is making a difference to inspire healthy eating across the world.”

Jan DeLyser, VP of marketing for the California Avocado Commission and chairman of PMA’s board of directors, said of Burns “She is held in the highest regard, with a depth of experience and perspective that will contribute greatly to PMA’s future growth. She is the perfect addition, the epitome of a principled, courageous leader, qualities that match PMA’s core values and blend very well with Bryan and the rest of our senior management team.”

DeLyser continued that Burns would be on-site at PMA’s annual Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition in New Orleans this October before officially taking on her duties in December.

A 30-year supermarket industry veteran, Burns has held a host of senior-level positions, including Hannaford Brothers and Food Lion, both Delhaize America banners. Until December 2012, she was president of 1,200-store Food Lion, in which capacity she headed overall operations, among them financial performance, brand strategy, merchandising, marketing, communications and customer service.

Burns was chair of the Produce Traceability Initiative’s Leadership Council and of the Coca-Cola Research Council. She is also a past board member of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), and the current chair of the board of governors of Children’s Miracle Hospital Network and the board of Duke Children’s Hospital.